Fresno State Athletics
Saturday, September 19
Riverside, CA
Women's 6k, 7:15 a.m. PT | Men's 8k, 8:55 a.m. PT
Fresno State
at
Riverside Invitational
Bulldogs turn in strong performances at UC Riverside Invitational
9/19/2026 3:28:00 PM | Cross Country
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Fresno State cross country team continued its 2026 season Saturday morning at the UC Riverside Invitational, highlighted by a top-10 individual finish from Chiara Pedol and a fourth-place team finish from the Bulldog men.
Fresno State's women placed 13th in the 30-team Invitational 6K field, totaling 363 points. The Bulldogs finished just one point behind CUI and 12 points behind UC Davis.
Pedol led the way with the best race of her Bulldog career, placing ninth overall in a field of 269 finishers. The junior clocked a 20:36.1 to earn eight team points. Rhiannon Walker followed with a breakthrough performance of her own, placing 31st in 20:53.7.
"Chiara was great today. She's in really good shape coming out of the summer, and this was the best race she's had in a Bulldog uniform," Head Coach Jason Drake said. "Rhiannon had a really good day as well. We knew that breakthrough was coming, so it was great to see her put together the race we knew she was capable of."
Ashley Villafana Rodriguez continued her strong start to the season, crossing the line in 21:29.4 to finish 87th overall. Khushleen Khakh was Fresno State's fourth scorer at 21:45.7, while Hannah Pacheco rounded out the scoring five at 21:53.6.
Nayla Martin (22:05.4), Hannah Garrity (22:15.5), Leah Mendibles (22:32.6) and Molly Bizik (23:22.3) also competed for the Bulldogs.
Pedol, Walker and Villafana Rodriguez also made their marks on Fresno State's all-time performance list. Pedol and Walker moved up the Bulldogs' Top 25 list, while Villafana Rodriguez broke onto the list for the first time.
On the men's side, Fresno State battled through a week of illness to place fourth in the 20-team Open 8K field with 174 points. The Bulldogs put three runners inside the top 45 and five inside the top 75, combining for a team time of 2:09:02. Less than a minute separated Fresno State's first and fifth scorers.
Noah Graffigna led the Bulldogs for the second consecutive meet, placing 15th overall in 25:17.5. Jaden Tungate followed in 28th with a time of 25:35.7.
"Noah and Jaden were really solid, especially considering the circumstances this week," Drake said. "We had a lot of illness throughout the team, so it was encouraging to see both of them come out and run well again. They've given us two strong performances to start the season."
Freshman Matthew Wong turned in a strong showing in his first collegiate 8K. The Clovis North graduate was Fresno State's third finisher, placing 44th overall in 25:47.9, just over 30 seconds behind Graffigna.
Ivan Barranco crossed the line fourth for the Bulldogs, placing 69th in 26:05.9. Emilio Nunez rounded out Fresno State's scoring five in 74th with a time of 26:14.8, while Elijah Williams followed closely behind in 75th at 26:16.3.
Gavin English finished in 26:35.4, followed by Guillermo Lopez (27:04.6), David Servin-Chavez (27:21.4) and Michael Herrera (27:27.0).
NOTABLE
UP NEXT
Fresno State returns to action on Oct. 2 with the men's team competing at the Pacific Invitational, and on Oct. 3 as the women compete at the Charles Bowles Invitational in Salem, Oregon.
Fresno State's women placed 13th in the 30-team Invitational 6K field, totaling 363 points. The Bulldogs finished just one point behind CUI and 12 points behind UC Davis.
Pedol led the way with the best race of her Bulldog career, placing ninth overall in a field of 269 finishers. The junior clocked a 20:36.1 to earn eight team points. Rhiannon Walker followed with a breakthrough performance of her own, placing 31st in 20:53.7.
"Chiara was great today. She's in really good shape coming out of the summer, and this was the best race she's had in a Bulldog uniform," Head Coach Jason Drake said. "Rhiannon had a really good day as well. We knew that breakthrough was coming, so it was great to see her put together the race we knew she was capable of."
Ashley Villafana Rodriguez continued her strong start to the season, crossing the line in 21:29.4 to finish 87th overall. Khushleen Khakh was Fresno State's fourth scorer at 21:45.7, while Hannah Pacheco rounded out the scoring five at 21:53.6.
Nayla Martin (22:05.4), Hannah Garrity (22:15.5), Leah Mendibles (22:32.6) and Molly Bizik (23:22.3) also competed for the Bulldogs.
Pedol, Walker and Villafana Rodriguez also made their marks on Fresno State's all-time performance list. Pedol and Walker moved up the Bulldogs' Top 25 list, while Villafana Rodriguez broke onto the list for the first time.
On the men's side, Fresno State battled through a week of illness to place fourth in the 20-team Open 8K field with 174 points. The Bulldogs put three runners inside the top 45 and five inside the top 75, combining for a team time of 2:09:02. Less than a minute separated Fresno State's first and fifth scorers.
Noah Graffigna led the Bulldogs for the second consecutive meet, placing 15th overall in 25:17.5. Jaden Tungate followed in 28th with a time of 25:35.7.
"Noah and Jaden were really solid, especially considering the circumstances this week," Drake said. "We had a lot of illness throughout the team, so it was encouraging to see both of them come out and run well again. They've given us two strong performances to start the season."
Freshman Matthew Wong turned in a strong showing in his first collegiate 8K. The Clovis North graduate was Fresno State's third finisher, placing 44th overall in 25:47.9, just over 30 seconds behind Graffigna.
Ivan Barranco crossed the line fourth for the Bulldogs, placing 69th in 26:05.9. Emilio Nunez rounded out Fresno State's scoring five in 74th with a time of 26:14.8, while Elijah Williams followed closely behind in 75th at 26:16.3.
Gavin English finished in 26:35.4, followed by Guillermo Lopez (27:04.6), David Servin-Chavez (27:21.4) and Michael Herrera (27:27.0).
NOTABLE
- Pedol placed ninth overall in the women's 6K with a Bulldog-best time of 20:36.1.
- Pedol and Walker moved up Fresno State's all-time Top 25 list, while Villafana Rodriguez entered the list for the first time.
- The Fresno State men placed fourth in the 20-team Open 8K with 174 points.
- Graffigna led the Bulldog men for the second consecutive meet, placing 15th in 25:17.5.
- Fresno State placed three men inside the top 45 and five inside the top 75.
- Wong placed 44th in 25:47.9 in his first collegiate 8K.
- Just 57.3 seconds separated the Bulldogs' first and fifth scorers in the men's race.
UP NEXT
Fresno State returns to action on Oct. 2 with the men's team competing at the Pacific Invitational, and on Oct. 3 as the women compete at the Charles Bowles Invitational in Salem, Oregon.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
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/ Cross Country
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